MEET THE FOUNDERS

THE STORY

" Lola James Harper is a holistic project about art, friendship, family, slow life & sunshine. "

Rami Mekdachi - Photographer, musician, movie director, fragrance creative director and founder of Lola James Harper.

THE ROOTS

Before Lola James Harper...

A multidisciplinary artist and visionary entrepreneur, Rami Mekdachi was born in Beirut and grew up between Paris, England, and the United States.A musician, photographer, and filmmaker from an early age, he discovered the world of fragrance in the late 1990s and quickly revolutionized the industry by becoming the first to create fragrances dedicated to iconic places.

His journey began with the legendary Parisian concept store Colette and the iconic Hôtel Costes, followed by collaborations with prestigious venues such as La Réserve Genève, Hôtel Arts Barcelona, Château de Jacques Garcia, Roger Vivier, Chloé, Lacoste, and more.

In parallel, Rami pursued a prolific career as a photographer and filmmaker, working with iconic magazines like Rock & Folk and Rolling Stone, while composing and performing with various musical groups signed under labels such as Chronowax and Pias.

ART BAND

Lola James Harper — The Art Band

Lola James Harper is not a brand — it’s an art band.

An art band composed of four members of the same family — two women, two men — all creating together: Rami, Céline, Lili, and Noé Mekdachi.

Together, they compose scents, songs, photographs, and films, and bring them to life through major art happenings around the world.

Their work celebrates the power of places — those rare, iconic places that inspire creation — and the artists and souls they meet along the way.

They co-create with extraordinary people and institutions:
• Joshua Hong, K-pop superstar.
• Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins, legendary rock band.
• Colette, the revolutionary fashion mecca.
• Palais Galliera, the fashion museum of Paris.
• Inès de la Fressange, Willy Cartier, Vans, Cadillac, Artistic Palace Studios — each collaboration a shared story of creativity and friendship.

At the front of the band is Rami Mekdachi, who has been creating scents for iconic places for over 30 years. He is also a musician, filmmaker, and photographer, gathering emotions through every medium.

Céline, his partner for 35 years, manages the art band and travels the world with him, turning their family life into a living creative project.

Their daughter Lili, based in London, is a contemporary dancer, filmmaker, photographer, and musician, bringing movement and grace to their collective expression.

Their son Noé is a high-level basketball player, drummer, and filmmaker, embodying the rhythm and energy of their art

Together, they travel the world — playing, filming, composing, and creating wherever inspiration strikes. From each encounter and each place, they gather stories that become scents, songs, photographs, and films.

They then share them in immersive happenings — warm, sensory art experiences where visitors are surrounded by their music, visuals, and fragrances for one evening or several days, in galleries or concept stores worldwide.

Their art lives in many forms:
Candles, room sprays, Eau de Toilette, and perfumes that capture the soul of places.

Photo books and art prints that reveal their photographic journeys.

Award-winning films available on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, or on their website.

And music albums on every major platform, recorded in studios across the globe with incredible artists.

Lola James Harper is one of the first art projects that bridges the worlds of luxury, art, and music.

They are featured in art galleries, on music platforms, on TV channels, and also in over 200 concept stores worldwide — including Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris, Merci, Isetan and Restirin Tokyo, and the Broad Museum and Lorenzo in Los Angeles.

More than a brand — Lola James Harper is a family art band sharing a vision of togetherness, inspiration, and re-enchantment through their creations.

The Origins

The Story Behind the Lola James Harper Logo

By Rami Mekdachi

I founded Lola James Harper in 2011 together with my wife Céline, my daughter Lili, and my son Noé. At that moment, we had already been traveling the world as a family for years — two decades with Céline, and one full decade with our children.

During those journeys, we were lucky enough to meet friends of friends, incredible artists, and inspiring places — sometimes iconic, sometimes hidden, but always full of life and soul. With each encounter, we would create something together: a scent, a photo series, a short film, or a song.

In the 1990s, Céline and I were already traveling, collaborating, and recording with musicians around the world. In the 2000s, Lili and Noé joined us — and our adventures became a true family art journey. By 2010, I began to feel that all those creations — the scents, songs, photographs, and films — should live together under one name, one family art project.

So one evening, as we sat at dinner, I asked my five-year-old daughter, Lili, to give us a name. At that age, she called all her dolls “Lola.”

My son Noé, who was already obsessed with basketball and admired LeBron James, said, “Let’s keep James.”

And that night, we were listening to Ben Harper.

So, in just two minutes, Lola James Harper was born — the name of our family art band.

Once the name existed, I began designing the logo. I wanted it to reflect our philosophy — that every creation is born with someone, somewhere. That togetherness is always at the center.

So the Lola James Harper logo is always built around the name of the friend, family, place, or artistwith whom we co-create. On top sits Lola James Harper — the family art band — and in the center, in larger letters, the name of the collaborator or the place that inspired that creation. Below it, a number marks that specific moment in time — a number that belongs to that shared story.

This graphic language became a visual way to express what Lola James Harper stands for: family, friendship, togetherness, and poetry.

In 2012, the concept of Let’s reunite scents, songs, photography, and films took shape. We gathered everything we had created over the years and selected the pieces that felt the most peaceful, dreamy, and full of color. That became our first Lola James Harper collection.

In 2013, I shared this project with my dear friends Colette and Sarah, who immediately believed in it. With their generosity and vision, they welcomed us for our very first official launch at Colette, 213 rue Saint-Honoré, Paris.

It was September 2013 — Vogue Fashion Night Out. We celebrated with a live concert featuring my son Noé, our dear friend and South African artist Ulona Hooman, and myself. We presented a photo exhibition, screened a short movie in the Water Bar, and introduced our first collection of 18 candles, each representing an iconic place or a friend’s world that had inspired us.

That evening was the first Lola James Harper happening — the moment our family art band was born.

Born from family and friendship.
Born at Colette, in Paris.
Born to share what we create — together.